Beautiful Disaster
by Being A Wallflower
Summary: Albus turned to see a girl lay splayed on the floor, surrounded by pieces of parchment. 'Do you, um, would you like some help*' He held out his hand. 'Oh, yeah, thanks.' She took his outstretched hand as he pulled her up. Albus has always hated being in his father's shadow, but when he meets Aoife, everything changes. Rated T for language. *Insert question mark here
1. Chapter I The Book Full Of Letters

He supposed he'd just never really noticed her before. She was in the year, below him, after all, and in Ravenclaw whilst he was in Gryffindor. But when they met for the first time, something just … clicked.

* * *

**Chapter I – The Book Full Of Letters**

Albus and Scorpius trudged through the thick white blanket of snow covering the path that led to Hogsmeade. The trees that flagged the route were but shadowy skeletons in an icy world against a black and white background. More snowflakes swirled down from the cloudy grey sky, and the biting wind left the two boys squinting. Both had wrapped up warm – it was cold, even for January.

When they reached the village, it was considerably deserted. Albus supposed that everybody was inside, only venturing outside when they needed to. As the boys continued on, they arrived at The Three Broomsticks. Scorpius indicated to the door and they ducked inside, where it was considerably warmer and alive with the sound of many people talking at once. Several fires burned intensely in their grates and there were only a few tables left. Albus' feet felt like blocks of ice, but he managed to shuffle to the bar and order two Butterbeers.

'Of course,' replied Madam Rosmerta, filling two tankards with hot, buttery liquid. He paid her six sickles, then weaved his way back towards Scorpius, who had found a tiny table in the corner of the bar (all the others were taken). He set down the frothy tankards and made himself comfortable opposite his best friend.

'So. You were going to tell me about that letter your dad sent you this morning,' prompted Albus.

'Oh yeah. Just going on about how disappointed he was that I chose to stay at the castle over Christmas, et cetera. I don't give a shit what he thinks, though. I mean, I got to spend weeks with Rose, just her and me undisturbed. And he expects me to not use that opportunity?' grumbled Scorpius.

'Well, the fact that he doesn't know about you and Rose may have some effect on the situation,' Albus reminded his friend.

'Oh, shut up!'

They sat in silence for a few minutes. When they had drained their tankards, they made for the door.

'Honeydukes?'

'Good for me.'

The howling wind was bitter against their faces as they hurried across the road to the colourful, brightly lit sweetshop. Honeydukes, like the Three Broomsticks, was heaving with people, mostly Hogwarts students. Pushing his way through the noisy crowd, Albus found himself face to face with a wooden shelf labelled 'Acid Pops'. He turned and held up one of the sweets, calling to Scorpius.

'You should give these to your Dad, that'd be a laugh! Can you imagine burning a hole through his tongue?'

'Yeah, that would shut him up! It would be great … he wouldn't be able to have a go at me. But I mustn't allow myself the pleasure.'

Albus grinned. He and Scorpius enjoyed having a go at Scorpius' father, Draco, whom they both disliked greatly.

The boys browsed the stock for a while, occasionally stopping to pick something up. When the number of people in the shop refused to diminish, Albus and Scorpius left Honeydukes, both with pockets bulging with treats they had bought.

The dark-haired boy shivered in his jumper and pulled his scarf tighter around him as a snowy owl, camouflaged in the blinding whiteness of its surroundings, swept high above them, a letter tied to its leg. The falling snow began to turn to sleet as the pair began the hike back up to the castle.

That was the moment when they heard a small yelp of surprise from behind them. Albus turned to see a girl lay splayed on the floor, surrounded by pieces of parchment.

Hurrying to help her, he couldn't help but notice that she was a rather pretty girl. She had long dark hair that fell down her back and beautiful big brown eyes that studied Albus carefully as he approached.

'Do you, um, would you like some help?' He held out his hand.

'Oh, yeah, thanks.' She took his outstretched hand as he pulled her up. 'I slipped on the ice. Oh no …' The girl had just looked down at the snowy ground beneath her, which was strewn with the pieces of parchment. At a closer look, they looked more like … letters.

'Here, I'll help.' Albus began picking up the letters, which were damp from the melted snow. The ink had begun to run and the parchment were soggy, but with a quick mutter of a hot air charm he dried them off before too much damage could be done. Albus handed the letters back to the girl and she smiled at him.

'Thank you.'

Once all of the letters had been collected, she pulled out a worn leather book cover which was devoid of pages from the pocket of her fluffy brown coat. Albus looked at her enquiringly but she just carried on with what she was doing, pulling out her wand.

'_Reparo,' _she whispered anxiously, as if she only half expected something would happen.

The letters miraculously stuck themselves back into the book.

'I've never been much good at that spell. Hopefully it'll work better this time. But, um, yeah, thank you very much for helping me. I should probably get going. Oh, and my name's Aoife. Nice to meet you.'

'Ee-fa,' Albus tried out the name; he liked the sound of it. It felt nice in his mouth. 'I'm Albus. Hopefully I'll see you around again someday, Aoife.'

And then she was gone, and Scorpius was at his side, asking,

'Who was that?'

And Albus simply replied,

'Aoife.'

* * *

**Competitions:**

The Multichap Competition by sangkar – prompt: _'someone with at least one line of dialogue must pick up, or hold a book'_.

A Trip To Hogsmeade Challenge by xThe Painted Lady – prompts: _wooden, owl, stock, scarf, jumper, bitter, taken, pull, parchment, high, icy_

And thanks for the truly amazing beta-ing by aimz66!

I hope you liked it! Jasmine


	2. Chapter II The Complications of Owl Post

**Chapter II – The Complications of Owl Post**

_Dear Dad,_

_How are you? I suppose that's a bit of a silly question, though, isn't it? Oh, never mind. Guess what – I got the equivalent of an Outstanding on my last Transfiguration homework! I had to work hard for that grade though - it's a really difficult subject but I'm really enjoying it. I'd say it was a bit like Chemistry. My work load in general is huge – I can't believe that there are only four months until exams. Anyway, I thought you might like this letter. Send one back as soon as you can. Missing you lots and lots! See you at Easter._

_Lots of Love,_

_Aoife_

Aoife read and re-read the letter before folding it up and putting it into a Muggle envelope. After carefully addressing it in her neatest print she sighed. She'd have to look for another one of those forms so she could send the letter the Muggle way – after all, her Dad was a Muggle.

She rose from the deep blue armchair in which she was sitting and wandered through the common room, taking her time. She loved the Ravenclaw Common Room: it was a bright, airy, circular room with a midnight blue carpet and a domed ceiling painted with stars (the dark-haired girl had always loved looking up and seeing the constellations, after all, she was a fan of astronomy). High arched windows draped with blue and bronze silks displayed the expansive Hogwarts grounds below them: the Great Lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Herbology greenhouses and the shadowy mountains beyond.

She passed the tall marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and made her way up the steps which led to the dormitories. The quiet hum of her fellow students left her as she reached the door marked 'Fifth Year Girls'. She crossed the round room to her four-poster bunk. The bed was unmade, as usual, and the contents of the heavy trunk were spilling out into a small pile on the floor. Aoife wasn't exactly known for being tidy.

Stepping precariously over the piles of her belongings, she began to rummage through the heavy trunk, past old ink bottles, spare robes, and the odd book. Lying on the bottom was a slightly worn-looking form titled '_Have A Muggle Friend Or Relative? Send Letters By Muggle Post Today!_'. The girl looked at the envelope and sighed once more.

After finding a spare ink bottle, she scrawled the answers to the form briefly and then placed it into yet another envelope with the original letter. It was a laborious process, but it was so much easier for her dad. Explaining owls with notes from daughters to his carers? Aoife would rather choose the stupid forms.

She was almost out of the room when she remembered the other letter she needed to send. Where was it now? Oh, yes – her bedside table. This was easier to find than the form – Aoife only had to lift a few heavy books to see the words she had printed, again in her best handwriting, last night, which began with the words '_Padma Patil_'.

The walk wasn't too long to the Owlery and Aoife found herself quite enjoying the quiet of the corridors. The odd person greeted her, but otherwise the short journey was uneventful. Glancing out of the window, she decided that she might go for a bit of a walk outside later, to refresh her mind for the lessons that would begin again tomorrow.

The Owlery was chilly and the wind bit at the uncovered skin on the Aoife's hands and face. The air smelt of dirty birds and wet hay – not the nicest smell to be greeted by when one walks into a room. Ignoring the smell, she called out 'Athena!' to the many owls. Her voice was almost lost in their noisy fidgeting and chirping, but the snowy owl gently descended onto her outstretched arms without her having to call again.

'Here,' Aoife said to her owl, 'Feeling like a long flight? If so, can you take this to Mum for me?' she asked, indicating the envelope marked _Padma Patil_. The owl hooted happily and stuck out her leg. The girl took the reply as a 'yes'. She tied the letter to its leg and pushed her out of the open window. Within moments, the owl was lost to the grey-white clouds which hung in the sky.

She had already turned back and was now looking for a school owl that wasn't snoozing peacefully to send the letter to the Post Office in Hogsmeade. It was then that she heard footsteps coming up the stairs behind her. Turning, she saw a boy with black hair, head bent, walking into the room. When he looked up, she recognised him almost at once – he had very kindly helped her when her letters had fallen onto the snowy earth a couple of weeks back. She thought his name might be Albus. Last time, however, he had been accompanied by a blonde boy, but this time he was alone.

His green eyes seemed to recognise her too. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and said,

'Are you … Aoife?'

'Yeah, I am,' she replied, smiling slightly. People hardly _ever _remembered her name – it was difficult to spell and easy to forget. 'And you are … Albus?' she questioned.

'Yup,' he said. 'That's me.'

'Have you got a letter to send, then?' she asked.

'Yeah – just a regular one to my parents. They like me to write at least once every two weeks!' He rolled his eyes, as if to say 'parents – honestly!'. 'Who have you got to send one to?'

'My dad,' Aoife said, before quickly adding so as to avoid questions; she found it hard to talk about her Dad. 'Wait – is your dad … famous? Only I thought – '

'Oh yeah, he's famous alright. Harry Potter, that's who he is, you know? The guy who lived?' The look he gave her said 'I'd be surprised if you didn't'.

'I know him,' the girl nodded. To be honest, who didn't? It was the only part in their History of Magic lessons that anybody ever paid any attention to.

Albus was quick to change the subject. 'So – that's quite a large letter. If you don't mind me asking, what's the special occasion?'

She blushed, embarrassed. 'Oh … my dad's a Muggle.'

'That's nothing to be ashamed of!' Albus laughed, 'My whole family's a bit in love with Muggles, if you know what I mean. I think Muggles are great.'

Aoife looked at him, confused. 'Are you making fun of me?' she asked, brow furrowed. Not everybody thought highly of Muggles, and it wasn't exactly common for boys to have normal conversations with her.

'Oh no!' Albus said quickly. 'No, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you.'

The girl shrugged. 'Don't worry. If you're being serious, I don't mind. Anyway, I better get going, I've got some work to do.' She had already tied the second letter to an owl's leg and it was hopping around, irritated, wanting to fly away.

'Off you go,' the girl murmured to the owl and it too flew out of the window. Turning back to the dark-haired boy, she bid him goodbye and left the Owlery, trying not to slip on the frozen patches of water that had collected on the spiral stairs. She was left with a strange feeling in her tummy that she didn't quite understand.


	3. Chapter III Spiking The Pumpkin Juice

**Chapter III – Spiking The Pumpkin Juice**

Aoife _had_ gone in a bit of a hurry. Even though she had said she wasn't offended, Albus was worried that she might have been slightly upset about what he had said. Anyway, he'd better send the letter to his dad quickly because it _was_ pretty chilly.

By the time he had sent his letter, Albus was already wishing that she hadn't left that quickly. He really liked her – she was a nice girl, but she also seemed complicated, as if she was hiding something. Life didn't seem so perfect for the dark-haired girl, yet she just wasn't ready to share it with anybody: or so it seemed. Albus may be good at judging what people were thinking, but it wasn't always easy.

He wanted to know more about her. But what could he suggest? … A walk together. Even though the weather was cold, the sun was shining brightly – with lots of layers on, it could be quite an enjoyable experience.

But then there was the problem of trying to ask her. Again, his disappointment that she had left so quickly returned. He could have asked her then, but it was too late now – he didn't exactly see himself running after her. He didn't even know where she was set off for. He assumed Ravenclaw Tower, but he couldn't be sure. What if he ended up wandering the corridors with no idea where she was? That would just be ridiculous.

He'd have to send a letter. Suggesting that they could meet up … next weekend? No – next weekend was Valentine's Day. He didn't like Aoife in _that _sort of way, did he?. How embarrassing.

He'd suggest the weekend after. That would be great – it might have even warmed up a bit by then. Albus smiled to himself as he walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

* * *

_Hello Aoife. It's Albus. Remember me? …_

_Hi! I'm Albus; you know, the one …_

_Hey Aoife!_

_I was wondering: would you like to perhaps go for a walk the weekend after next? If you do, I'll meet you at three in the Entrance Hall on Saturday. It's okay if you don't though. _

_From Albus._

He wasn't exactly happy with his letter-writing skills, but they would have to do. Now all he had to do was give the note to Lysander – the quiet boy was, after all, in the same house and year as Aoife. It also helped that Albus also knew where to find him. The library.

Lysander was, as usual, sitting right in the corner of the library, probably reading about some sort of obscure creature that most probably lived in Outer Mongolia, for all Albus knew. But it was Lysander's interest so it didn't really bother Albus like it did with others.

The black-haired boy tapped the blonde on the shoulder, and he looked up from his book. Handing him the message, Albus asked,

"Hey Lysander – will you deliver this to a girl called Aoife, please? I think you have your lessons with her."

"Yep," Lysander replied, smiling. "She'll have it by dinner."

"Thanks," Albus grinned.

* * *

Albus sat with Scorpius, Rose, James, Fred and Louis at the Gryffindor table for dinner. About ten minutes after he had settled down, Albus realised that James, Fred and Louis were smirking at each other and throwing glances at the Slytherin table every thirty seconds.

Rose seemed to have noticed too. "What have you done to the Slytherins this time?" she asked scathingly, eyebrows raised. "Spiked the pumpkin juice?"

"Nah," James said mischievously, "We spiked the pumpkin juice _this morning_, with some of Uncle George's U-No-Poo. We timed it perfectly so as for maximum effect about now." There was a glint in his eyes as he noticed that Roxanne, who had previously been sitting not very far from him, had now moved to the other end of the table, throwing worried glances at the three of them to show that she was slightly worried of what might happen. Her experience with the stuff that the trio were so very fond of hadn't been that pleasant.

Sure enough, quite a few of the Slytherins about half way down the table were looking rather pained. And even Albus had to put his hand over his mouth to stop him from laughing out loud when some of them stood up abruptly and ran off, clutching their buttocks.

"You know, you really should stop pulling pranks on them." Rose's tone was scolding, but a small smile was playing on her lips.

"Aw, come on, you have to admit that that _was _kind of funny," James grinned. The group of them all burst out laughing.

* * *

After the whole 'U-No-Poo' episode at dinner, Albus was almost out of the Great Hall before he remembered about the message he had sent Aoife. What if she said no? Oh god …

He had to find Lysander – this proved to be quite difficult when he became aware of the mass of people that surrounded him. It'd be quite hard to find him amongst this chaos.

"Lysander!" He called out. "Lysander!"

"Hey," said a voice not very far away. But that wasn't Lysander's voice. That was …

"Oh, hey Aoife," replied the green-eyed boy, flustered. "Did you, um, get my note?"

"Yeah, I did," Aoife smiled. "And I was thinking … yes. I'd love to come and have a walk with you. Because, you know, it's not like a date or anything, right?"

"Nope. Nothing of the sort. Just a casual friendly walk, if that's okay by you."

"Yep, definitely. So I need to meet you at the Entrance Hall the weekend after next. Why not next weekend? Are you busy or something?"

"No … I just thought, it's Valentine's Day, and I didn't want you to, you know, get the wrong idea …" Albus hated how awkward the conversation was getting.

Aoife blushed scarlet. "I … see what you mean. Well, how about we ignore the whole Valentine's thing and go for a walk, as friends?"

"Go on, then," Albus replied. It was then that he realised that by now, everyone else had made their way back up to their common rooms and he and Aoife were the only people around. "Well … I better be going now," he said. The girl bit her lip.

"Okay. I should probably go to. Bye!"

* * *

Thanks so very much to the wonderful Ami (AlwaysPadfoot) for beta-ing this for me at such incredibly short notice. She's a lifesaver!


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